REFERENCE NEWS NETWORK REPORTED ON FEBRUARY 28TH THAT THE WEBSITE OF HONG KONG'S SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST PUBLISHED AN ARTICLE ON FEBRUARY 25TH STATING THAT CHINA HAS SIGNED SEVERAL TRADE AGREEMENTS IN THE PAST FEW MONTHS, EVEN THOUGH IT STILL HAS CONFLICTS WITH SOME COUNTRIES SUCH AS AUSTRALIA, THE UNITED STATES, AND THE UNITED KINGDOM. EXPERTS SAY THAT THIS CONTRADICTION INDICATES THAT DESPITE POLITICAL DIFFERENCES, MANY COUNTRIES UNDERSTAND THAT CONSIDERING CHINA'S MANUFACTURING CAPABILITIES, IT IS BENEFICIAL TO TRADE WITH CHINA.BEFORE THE UPCOMING TWO SESSIONS IN CHINA TO DISCUSS THE NEW FIVE-YEAR PLAN, BOTH THE ASIA SOCIETY AUSTRALIA CENTER AND BEIJING CHINAAMC CONSULTING PREDICT THAT ALTHOUGH CHINA WELCOMES FOREIGN INVESTMENT AND EXPERTISE, IT WILL REDUCE ITS DEPENDENCE ON EXPORTS. AT THE SAME TIME, CHINA IS EXPECTED TO START SIGNING MORE TRADE AGREEMENTS, ESPECIALLY WITH DEVELOPING COUNTRIES.ANY MAJOR ECONOMIC SHIFT AWAY FROM EXPORT DEPENDENCE WILL LAST FOR SEVERAL YEARS, "SAID ZINABASHI." IN THE SHORT TERM, TRADE AGREEMENTS CAN HELP INCREASE EXPORTS AND GIVE DOMESTIC COMPANIES THE OPPORTUNITY TO COMPETE IN THE GLOBAL MARKET, THEREBY ENHANCING THEIR OWN STRENGTH AND STRENGTHENING POLITICAL RELATIONS WITH OTHER COUNTRIES. WHEN EXPORTS BEGIN TO DECLINE, CHINA WILL SEEK OTHER TOOLS TO EXPAND ITS FOREIGN RELATIONSBARA RAMASAMI, AN ECONOMICS PROFESSOR AT THE CHINA EUROPE INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS SCHOOL, SHARES THE VIEWS OF THE ASIA SOCIETY AND CHINAAMC. HE BELIEVES THAT ALTHOUGH CHINA HOPES TO BUILD A "DUAL CIRCULAR" ECONOMY, IT ALSO NEEDS GLOBAL TRADE. HE SAID, "CHINA NEEDS TO ACQUIRE NATURAL RESOURCES AND TECHNOLOGY TO MAINTAIN THE OPERATION OF ITS PRODUCTION MACHINERY AND MEET THE GROWING DEMANDS OF ITS DOMESTIC POPULATIONBUT JULIAN SHAYS, A TRADE PROFESSOR AT CITY UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG, SAID THAT CHINA IS FACING GLOBAL PRESSURE TO COPE WITH OTHER ECONOMIES SUCH AS THE UNITED STATES, AND THIS MOVE WILL RELEASE SOME OF THE PRESSURE.ZHANG MONAN, CHIEF RESEARCHER AT THE US EUROPE INSTITUTE OF THE CHINA CENTER FOR INTERNATIONAL ECONOMIC EXCHANGE, SAID THAT THIS IS LIKELY TO BE A KEY POINT OF DISCUSSION ON GLOBAL TRADE AT THIS YEAR'S TWO SESSIONS. SHE SAID, "FOR TRADE AGREEMENTS, CHINA MUST FORMULATE MORE REFORM MEASURES AND SET A TIMETABLE FOR CHINA'S DEVELOPMENT DIRECTION. FOR EXAMPLE, THE REFORM OF STATE-OWNED ENTERPRISES WILL BE THE KEY TO CHINA'S MARKET ECONOMY. ONE OF THE MAJOR ISSUES FACING CHINA NOW IS TO FORMULATE NEW FINANCIAL AND TRADE RULES TO ACCELERATE OPENING UP. DURING THE TWO SESSIONS, ESTABLISHING A HIGH STANDARD RULE SYSTEM FOR AN OPEN ECONOMIC SYSTEM MAY BE THE TOP PRIORITYZHANG MOLAN SAID THAT, IN ADDITION TO REFORM, ALTHOUGH TRUMP'S TRADE PROTECTIONISM POLICY AND THE COVID-19 EPIDEMIC TRIGGERED "DECOUPLING THEORY", WHICH LED SOME COUNTRIES TO VIGOROUSLY DEVELOP SELF-SUFFICIENCY IN SOME IMPORTANT COMMODITIES, CHINA IS STILL AT THE CORE OF MANY MANUFACTURING SUPPLY CHAINS.